Fish lure



SePt- 8, 1953 G. J. sHARPs 2,651,133

FISH LURE Y Filed June 11, 1952 JNVENTOR.- GEORGE J. SHARPS ATT'Ys Patented Sept. 8g 1953 .r,

FISH LURE George J. Sharps, Momence, Ill., assignor to P & K Incorporated, Momence, Ill., a corporation of Illinois v Application June 11, 1952, Serial No. 292,907

` claims (ci. i3-42.37)

The main objects of the present invention are to provide an improved construction for fish lures with bodies simulating bugs, and other forms of bait; to provide an improved construction for fish lures that is simple to manufacture, that is capable of being made ina great variety of sizes without change other than the proportion of parts; to-provide an improved construction of this kind that is capable of using very light materials for the lure body and still will have great resistance to abuses such as are inflicted on such devices by the struggles of the iish and by the strains of releasing the hook from the fishs mouth; and to provide an exceedingly simple form for the hook member of such a structure.

A specific embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a preferred form of a complete fish lure.

Fig. 2 is a section taken in the plane of the hook member illustrating the manner in which the body of the lure is attached to the hook.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the structure and shape of the hook member before it is applied to the lure body.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the lure body showing the relation of the bore and exterior groove which are occupied by parts of the hook shank in the nished lure.

In the form shown in the drawings, the body IIJ is made of cork or other suitable light material and is of frusto-conical form with an inclined concave base II at the line end of the body.

The body has a groove I2 running from end to end along one side and a bore I3 spaced radially inward from and parallel with the groove I2. The hook member I4 is of Wire of substantially uniform diameter except for the barb I5 and the shank of the hook is bent back upon itself to form a U-shaped portion with a main shank arm IS which is seated in the groove l2 and a latch arm I1 that is inserted through the bore I3.

The bight I8 at the juncture of the arms I6 and I'I is deflected downward so that the eye I9 that is formed thereby will be positioned a slight distance to the hookside of the shank arm I5 in the plane of the arms I6 and I1 and the hook I4. The length of the latch arm I'I is sufcient to extend slightly beyond the end of the body Ill that is adjacent the hook I4.

The shank I6 has a keeper formation 20 in the form of a spirally twisted bight oiset to a position for engaging the free end of the latch arm CII I 'I when the shank arms of the hook member are in the position in which they are shown in Figs. l and 2. In the form shown this bight is in the form of a single spiral whorl and the hook is substantially in the same plane with the shank arms.

After the latch arm has been inserted through y the bore I3, the keeper bight 20 can be readily brought into hooked engagement with the end of the latch arm I'I, due to the resiliency of the wall 2i of the body I0 that separates the groove I2 and bore I3.

Finally, a coating of enamel 22 is applied to the surface of the body I0 and the latch structure is completely embedded therein. The groove I2 is also filled with enamel which, when hardened, prevents any possibility of disengagement of the latched parts of the shank.

The tufts of feathers 23 and hair or other fibres 2li that are usually applied to fish lures to simulate live bait are attached to the part of the hook I4 that extends beyond the body I0.

In order that the shank arm I6 Will lie snugly against the bottom of the groove I2, this part of the shank in its initial form is slightly bowed convexly toward the shank arm I'I as shown in- Fig. 3, and straightens out in the finished structure.

The parts of the shank I6 immediately in front of and behind the spiral bight 20 are spaced apart laterally of the plane of Fig. 2 to permit the end of arm I 'I to enter the keeper but the barbed end and body part of the hook member I4 lie mainly in the plane of the shank arms so that its weight causes the hook to hang downward so that the device normally assumes the position in which it is illustrated in Figure 1, when it reaches the surface of the water in casting.

It will be seen that the identical structure is adaptable to all sizes of fishhook construction and is readily formed out of spring steel wire of at its other end a shank, said shank having an open loop at the bill end thereof and a second end thereof and a second loop at the opposite'Y end thereof, said second loop having a freglterminal end adapted to be engaged in the first loop whereby a lure body mayglloe, rigidlyaheld between the intermediataportionf ofwtlief;shank-f and the free terminal end, said second loop having side portions inclined downwardlynvith respeet to the straight portion of said shank whereby the first and second loops constitute-stops adapted to restrain a lure 'body from longitudinal movementfrelatively to gtk-1e hook.

Se'lh.v nombinatipn-With .aishnhook comprisr "a singleplement;owirelshapedto have a f curved ,bin terminating fin v a: barb ipontfgatione -.:.-,e r,1d tl-lreo..r saidrbilhhanns: atitsf-Qtheriend a shank, said shank having an open loopatffthe Y-:Lbillendnthereof :andafseeond -lQOpf at, thsoppo- .,f-siand thereofesad second loooharing azfree '-A'term'mabsnd'fadoptedfio lne-engaged irl-:the .first ,tween; the, intermediate,` portion ofl theyshangand the free terminal end, of a lurelbzody, said lure anodinlsiaiirla afgrooveiin @heal-@pdr thereon@ re- .ceivea portion or theshankit thermos-between Y. bothloops.

4 4. The combination with a i'ish hook compris'- ing a single element of wire shaped to have a curved bill terminating in a barb point at one end thereof, said bill hawng at its other end a 5 shank including a straight portion, said shank having an open loop at the bill end thereof and a second loop at the opposite end thereof, said lo second loopl having a'v greg terminal end adapted to-be eri'gagedsin theeirs't loopwhereby a lure 10 body may be rigidly held between the interme- 4 `odiate portion of the shank and the free terminal umend, of a lure body, said lure body having a groove in the body thereof to receive a portion of the shank. of thee-hoolefbetween both loops, said secl5oond.ideologiaving;` side portions inclined downwardly-withv respect to the straight portion of fg-saidshankqyvhereby the iirst and second loops constitute Stops adapted to restrain a lure body trom-longitudinal movement relatively to the 20 hook.

QEQRGE, s nARPs; 

